Lin Kerr was born in South Africa and relocated to the United Kingdom in 1998. She has a degree in Fine Arts, a teaching diploma and began calligraphy in 1985.Lin Kerr’s main interests as a lettering artist lies in exploring the beauty of the letter through various media, with a particular interest in abstract work. She has worked with her own hand-made paper, gold, vellum and textiles. She produces hand-crafted books and mixed media pieces, and is equally at home in oil paints, acrylic and watercolours.Lin is a fully qualified, recognised teacher with teaching certificates from CLAS (Calligraphy & Lettering Society) City & Guilds, a Fine Arts Degree, and a College Art teaching diploma. She teaches and exhibits internationally.

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A while back I mentioned Joy Daniels on this blog, when I posted about the Copperplate Special Interest Group, which Joy runs in her spare time. Joy runs the Copperplate Special Interest Group on behalf of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society and she also serves on the Executive Committee of the Society for Italic Handwriting.Joy is an acomplished calligrapher, and undertakes commissions for all work requiring calligraphy, including Wedding stationery, family trees, poems and inscriptions, writing names on certificates, invitations and place cards, table plans and Books of Remembrance.Joy offers a bespoke Wedding Stationery service with stylish one-off designs to suit your celebration, whether it is traditional or more contemporary. She has a unique collection of individually designed invitations, placecards, order of service, thank you cards etc.www.joydaniels.co.uk

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The other day I was sorting out some drawers and I came across this envelope.It was from Brian Walker and the post mark indicates it was sent in 1999. The images do not do justice to the quality of the calligraphy. When you look closely you can see the detail and extremely fine hairlines.Unlike the Copperplate style, the Spencerian minuscule letters are more cursive in their construction. Looking closely at the word ‘Suffolk’ it would have been written as follows:The capital ‘S’ was written first! This letter is written at some speed i.e. not carefully drawn. When I have observed Brian writing Spencerian he would practice the capital letterform a little in the air just above the paper (a bit like a golfer practising a putt). The letters ‘uf’ follow – all in one continuous movement without lifting the pen off the paper. Pressure was applied on the down-stroke of the ‘f’ to get the shade (thick part). The second ‘f’ was written on it’s own. Finally ‘olk’ would have been produced in one continuous movement without a pen lift.It was a little disappointing when I looked inside the envelope – there were two blank sheets of Character paper for me to try and a post-it note stuck paper explaining why the paper was so good for pointed pen writing.

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I found this interesting video clip on YouTube the other day.Watching the artist producing the letters using such a large brush was fascinating. They made it look so easy. The person who posted the video wrote the following about it:An artist at the Summer Palace in Beijing China drawing calligraphy on the ground with water. There were a few artists there doing this all day since the quotations they write dry as they write them. This artist even allowed a Japanese tourist try it out.

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Harriet Frazer founded Memorials by Artists three years after the death of her step-daughter, Sophie Behrens. Harriet realised that the successful creation of a unique memorial to Sophie had only been possible because she had been able to find a sympathetic artist, who understood what she and her family were trying to express and who was willing to work with them.The experience of searching for and eventually finding a beautiful memorial for Sophie took Harriet four years and led to the idea of helping others in a similar situation.

Memorials by Artists was founded on the belief that a memorial should be as individual as the person it is dedicated to. An individually designed memorial will reflect the character of that person in a way that choosing one from a catalogue cannot. Finding and collaborating with a sympathetic maker is central to achieving this.Every memorial commissioned through Memorials by Artists is hand carved by one of our designer/lettercutters, who create their own designs rather than working to a pattern. Each piece is considered as a creative opportunity, rather than a mere product and no two memorials are ever the same.

Memorials by Artists

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Time to be inspired…..

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With over twenty five years of experience in ornamental penmanship and offhand flourishing, master penman John DeCollibus presents his skills in this wonderful Youtube video.http://www.beyondwordsscript.com/

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Paul Antonio grew up in Trinidad, West Indies and came to England in 1998. He was offered a fully funded place on the Letterforms History Course, at the Dept of Typography and Graphic Communications, University of Reading.He has done work presented to HRH Prince Philip. Lectured at the British Museum. Demonstrated Calligraphy and Heraldry at the V&A Museum, The Courtauld Institute and the Gilbert Collection at Somerset House.

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Jan Pickett is a professional Calligrapher, Lettering Artist and Illustrator. She undertakes many and varied commissions, both private and commercial. Jan is an Honoured Fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society (CLAS) and a Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators (SSI), and is active in, and supports, both Societies.Jan offeres a wide range of workshops including3D and shadow lettersHalf Uncials with Celtic charisma…Cut-paper lettering – levels I and IIHalf Uncials and Celtic decorationTaster calligraphy session days for beginners – ‘Learn it and love it!’Jan Pickett

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Mary Noble is a professional calligrapher. She works to commission, teaches at residential and day workshops across the country and has regular classes locally in Hampshire. As well as teaching, Mary has written or co-authored several calligraphy books. They cover a variety of approaches on calligraphy and are all aimed mainly at beginners. Where possible, the books have been able to include Gallery pages of high quality work by professionals.Mary is a Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators (SSI) and a Fellow, Associate and Accredited tutor of the Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society (CLAS). She actively supports both societies as well as the South Hampshire Calligraphers.Mary Noble

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